Shoe



1941' J. F. BERKELEY ETAL 2,267,807

SHOE

Filed July 19, 1940 Patented Dec. 30, 1941 snon v John F. Berkeley, Lynn, and Harry Drapler,

Boston, Mass., assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 19, 1940, Serial No. 346,398

2 Claims.

This invention relates to shoes and particularly to shoes having wedge heels.

By the term wedge heel shoe is meant that type of shoe in which the heel extends to the front end of the shank, that is, to the break line of the shoe. Wedge heel shoes may also be of the platform type, that is, may have a midsole also. at least at the forepart, which may or may not be integral with the wedge heel. For the sake of lightness the wedge heel and platform, if used, may be made of material such as cork composition or felt and, for the purpose of presenting a more decorative appearance, are'covered with fabric or leather corresponding to or contrasting with the material used to form the upper of the shoe. The. outsoles are usually attached to such shoes by cement and during that operation the pressure necessarily applied is apt to compress the cork composition or felt of the heel and cause the covering to wrinkle, which wrinkles are not always removed by expansion of the heel material after the pressure is relieved. Furthermore, it is usually desirable to attach the wedge heel to the shoe by inside nailing which cannot be satisfactorily done when the heel is composed entirely of soft material such as felt or cork composition.

Objects of this invention are to provide a wedge heel of light cushioning material which will not be compressed to cause wrinkling of the cover in response to the sole-attaching pressure and which will provide an adequate anchorage for fastenings driven to secure the insole and wedge heel together such as heel-attaching nails. To this end the illustrated heel is provided with a wood insert extending entirely or substantially through the heel in the region where the inside nails are driven to secure the heel to the shoe. If desired also, a second insert may be provided in the shank portion to receive another set of heel-attaching nails. The body of the heel may be of any light cushioning material such as cork composition or felt and may be covered with leather or fabric. A heel so constructed will withstand the soleattaching pressure without causing the cover to wrinkle and the wood inserts provide secure anchorage for the heel-attaching nails.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a shoe embodying the present invention, and

Fig, 2 is a similar view illustrating a modified construction.

The shoe illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises an upper I which is lasted in the usual manner over an insole I2 and preferably is secured at the shank and forepart by cement and at the heel-seat by tacks I4. A wedge heel I8 of 011511-- ioning material is provided with an extension I8 covering the forepart of the shoe. The extension I8 is preferably a separate piece the rear end of which is skived and joined to a corresponding surface of the wedge heel, as indicated at I9 in Fig. 2. The heel I6 and extension I8 are covered with leather or fabric material 20 which is cemented to the edge faces of the members I6, I8 and is large enough'to be carried over their top and bottom faces sufliciently to hide the edges of the cover 20. In the rear end of the wedge heel I6 a cavity is formed into which is inserted a wooden plug 22 shown as having its grain extending heightwise of the shoe. The cavity may, as shown in Fig. 1, extend nearly through the heel heightwise thereof, leaving some of the cushioning material under the insert or it may extend entirely through the heel, as shown in Fig. 2, and engage the outsole.

The platform I8 at the forepart of the shoe is usually attached to the overlasted upper Ill by means of cement and preferably at the same time an outsole 24 is cement-attached to the platform and wedge heel. During this operation the pressure applied to the rear portion of the shoe is sustained by the wood insert 22, thus preventing compression of the wedge heel IE or wrinkling of its cover 20. After attachment of the outsole, the last is removed and fastenings 26 driven from the inside of the shoe into the insert 22, thus securing the wedge heel to the shoe.

Under some conditions it is desirable to provide additional means for securing the shank portion of the wedge heel to the insole. For this purpose, as shown in Fig. 2, a second wood insert 28 is provided in the shank portion of the wedge heel l6. When the wedge heel is provided with a second insert 28 other fastenings 30 may be inserted through the shank of the insole 'into the wood insert 28, thus further securing the heel and shoe together. A usual sock lining 32 may be inserted to finish the interior of the shoe and, if desired, a heel lift 34 may be secured to the outsole 24.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe of the wedge heel type having an insole, an upper lasted over the insole, a wedge heel of compressible material attached to the heel and shank portion of the shoe, a thin flexible cover over the exposed surface of the heel and extending over the marginal portions of its top and bottom faces. and an outsole extendheel of compressible material attached to the heel and shank portion or the shoe. a thin flexible cover over the exposed surface of the heel and extending over the marginal portions of its top and bottom faces, and an outsoleextending the full length of the shoe and cement-attached to the shoe bottom at least at the forepart, said heel being characterized by having inserts located one at the heel-seat and another at the shank, said inserts extending entirely through the heel heightwise thereof and being sufllciently rigid to prevent wrinkling oi the heel cover dur- 10 ing the application of sole-attaching pressure.

JOHN F. BERKELEY. HARRY DRAPLER. 

